My North Creek Nurseries Wish List

Joe Pye weed is a robust, upright perennial with hollow purple stems accented by huge, rounded, tight clusters of pink or purplish-mauve flowers. It is an important pollen and nectar plant and attracts butterflies (particularly the swallowtail butterfly) and other pollinators by the dozens. Its height makes it an excellent background plant in border perennial beds, but is also majestic standing alone. Flower color is darker in cooler weather.

Shiny, dark purple-red ruffled leaves with faint silvery marbling between the veins accented by attractive, delicate heads of pink flower clusters held aloft by tall, thin stems in early and mid summer. Fast growing with a tidy, mounding habit. Very popular!

A superb intro from Charles Oliver of the Primrose Path, this is a native late-flowering groundcover. This has much shinier, almost lacquered looking foliage vs. H. villosa 'Purpurea'. Like its cousin 'Autumn Bride', 'Bronze Wave' is sturdy, perhaps an 18", or a bit larger, clump. September-October flowering spikes of small tan flowers. Excellent shade groundcover that can happily compete with tree roots and come out looking good.

The short stature, continuous sunny bloom, and deep wine coloring of this native plant make Lysimachia lanceolata 'Burgundy Mist' a new favorite groundcover, winning over our Gardens Department by how it keeps weeds at bay and is a carefree plant. 

Bowman's Root is an easy-to-grow native for bright shade or partial sun and it tolerates tree root competition well as long at it has a nice layer of organic mulch. Bowman's Root is lovely in a mass planting where its lacy white flowers can shimmer in a light breeze. It makes a nice filler - think Gaura for shade! A compact, rounded plant is topped in late spring with ethereal white flowers growing in a few loose terminal panicles, with red petioles and mahogany stems. Clean, disease-free foliage often turns deep bronzy red in fall and contrasts beautifully with the more typical oranges and yellows in the perennial border. Interesting form and unique seed heads persist into winter. Great for cut flowers!

Rudbeckia triloba 'Prairie Glow' has our attention! With brightly colored flowers of yellow with a bright red eye fading to a glowing orange to bronze, this native beauty brings fire to the sunny border. Its multi-branching habit provides dense flower cover, more so than the straight species, and its late blooming time, starting in July and flowering right through to October, makes this a valuable pollinator plant. 

A vigorous running groundcover with red speckled, deeply dissected heart shaped foliage, Tiarella 'Running Tapestry' produces a plethora of white flower spikes in spring. Discovered by Jim Plyler of Natural Landscapes Nursery, West Grove, PA, the irrepressible grower of native trees and shrubs. A Cornell University All Star Groundcover!